Oak Ridge Today

With K-25 demolition complete, DOE plans to preserve building ‘footprint’

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K-25 Building Demolition March 2014

Demolition work at the K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge is complete, and cleanup work is expected to be complete this summer. Pictured above is the former south end of the east wing. (Photo by John Huotari)

Demolition of the K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge has been completed. Now, the U.S. Department of Energy looks toward the future and preserving the footprint of the Manhattan Project building.

The building was about 44 acres “under roof,” according to Susan Cange, deputy manager of DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. K-25 was built to enrich uranium for atomic bombs during World War II.

“There was a lot of discussion over the years about whether we could retain a portion of the building as a part of historic preservation,” Cange said. “From a safety and security perspective, it really wasn’t a viable alternative.”

In 2012, Cange and others signed a Memorandum of Agreement, and they envisioned completion of a preservation project within five to seven years. They also agreed to retain the footprint of the building and dedicate it in some way to allow visitors to see the enormity of the former mile-long, U-shaped building. [Read more…]

K-25: Large, flat, close to ORNL, interstate—good for economic development

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Gov. Bill Haslam Visits ETTP/K-25

Sue Cange gives Gov. Bill Haslam, right, an update on the almost-completed demolition of the mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building. Cange is deputy manager of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management. Also pictured are Leo Sain, left, president of cleanup contractor UCOR, and Jeff Tucker, UCOR deactivation and decommissioning manager.

It was built during World War II to help enrich uranium for the world’s first atomic bombs. Then, it helped win the Cold War. Now, the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge presents a giant opportunity for economic development in Tennessee, Gov. Bill Haslam said during a tour last Friday.

“We have a real interest in what happens here,” Haslam said in a short meeting with reporters before getting a brief update on the demolition of the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building, which was once the world’s largest building under one roof.

The governor said the K-25 site, now known as East Tennessee Technology Park or Heritage Center, has 2,000 flat acres with infrastructure already in place, including roads and rails, and it’s three miles from Interstate 40 and seven miles from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the U.S. Department of Energy’s largest science and energy laboratory.

“We don’t have that opportunity in a lot of places,” Haslam said. “Finding 2,000 flat acres in East Tennessee is virtually impossible.” [Read more…]

Gov. Haslam supports national preservation award for Alexander Inn

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Alexander Inn Groundbreaking

Local, state, and federal officials join volunteers and nonprofit and business executives for a groundbreaking ceremony at the historic Alexander Inn in November.

Gov. Bill Haslam is supporting a nomination for a national historic preservation award for a project converting the Alexander Inn in Oak Ridge into an assisted living center.

Knox Heritage and East Tennessee Preservation Alliance have nominated the hotel for the 2014 The National Trust/Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Award for Federal Partnerships in Historic Preservation.

In a Feb. 25 letter, Haslam said he supports the nomination. The letter was sent to Stephanie Meeks at the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, D.C.

The Alexander Inn was built during World War II, when Oak Ridge raced to help build the world’s first atomic weapons as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. Guests who once stayed at the two-story hotel included Gen. Leslie Groves, Secretary of War Henry Stimson, and physicists J. Robert Oppenheimer and Enrico Fermi. [Read more…]

DOE, UCOR demolish last piece of K-25, once the world’s largest building

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K-25 Building Demolition Final

The last section of the former K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge was demolished on Thursday.

It was once the world’s largest building under one roof, built by the U.S. government in less than two years as part of a top-secret race to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II.

Officials say it also helped win the Cold War.

But five years after demolition started, the K-25 Building is gone. Officials, workers, and invited guests watched the last section of the giant building crash to the ground on Thursday.

The mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building enriched uranium through a process called gaseous diffusion. It was the largest facility in the U.S. Department of Energy complex. Debris shipments are expected to be completed in the spring of 2014.

The $1.1 billion project is under budget and ahead of schedule. [Read more…]

Once the world’s largest, K-25 Building will be completely demolished Thursday

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K-25 Demolition December 2013

Demolition work on the former uranium-enriching K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge is expected to be completed Thursday. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy/Lynn Freeny)

It was once the world’s largest building under one roof, but on Thursday, federal officials expect to complete demolition work at the K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge.

K-25 was built during World War II to enrich uranium for the world’s first atomic bombs as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. After the war, it enriched uranium for nuclear weapons and commercial nuclear power plants.

But the site shut down in the mid-1980s, and demolition work on the K-25 Building started five years ago, in December 2008, under former cleanup contractor Bechtel Jacobs.

Officials and workers expect to tear down the last remaining piece of K-25 starting at about 11 a.m. Thursday. They have invited media to attend to witness the historic event. [Read more…]

Passed in House, Manhattan Project Park amendment falls short in Senate

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K-25 Aerial

Now mostly demolished, the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building is pictured above. The site could be included in a Manhattan Project National Historical Park. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy)

The legislation to create a Manhattan Project National Park that would include Oak Ridge has fallen short in the U.S. Senate, but the representative from Washington state who wrote the House amendment vowed to press ahead next year.

The bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives in June as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. But it was not included in the final text of the defense bill released late Tuesday night, said U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, the Washington Republican who wrote the amendment.

Besides Oak Ridge, the park would include Hanford, Wash., and Los Alamos, N.M. The three cities played key roles in the Manhattan Project, a top-secret program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II.

“I’m disappointed, but not deterred,” said Hastings, chair of the House Natural Resources Committee. “To all the advocates for this park: You’ve given great energy, enthusiasm, and expertise to this effort to date, and I know that will continue until our goal is accomplished, which I am confident it will ultimately be.” [Read more…]

Atomic Heritage still hopeful that Manhattan Project Park legislation will pass

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K-25 Building Aerial View

Now mostly demolished, the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building is pictured above. The site could be included in a Manhattan Project National Historical Park. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy)

Note: This story was updated at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 4.

A bill to create a Manhattan Project National Park that would include Oak Ridge has already passed the U.S. House of Representatives, but now it’s tied up in the Senate.

Still, the nonprofit Atomic Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., remains hopeful that the legislation will pass.

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park Act was included as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which the House passed in June.

The Senate is now negotiating the procedure for considering 507 amendments that have been offered to that legislation, the Atomic Heritage Foundation said in a Tuesday e-mail. [Read more…]

K-25 Building demolition nears completion

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K-25 Building Demolition

Workers continue demolishing and hauling away debris at the K-25 Building. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy/UCOR)

Demolition of the last standing section of the K-25 Building at the East Tennessee Technology Park is more than 75 percent complete.

UCOR workers began tearing down the last six units in the east wing of the mile-long Manhattan Project-era gaseous diffusion building in September. The majority of those six units—4.5 of them—are already on the ground, and work is continuing at a steady pace, the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office reported in the December issue of Public Involvement News.

The entire project, including waste removal, should be completed next year, the Oak Ridge Office said.

The historic, U-shaped K-25 Building was erected to enrich uranium for atomic bombs during World War II, and it was once the world’s largest building under one roof. It once had 54 units. [Read more…]

Officials celebrate conversion of historic hotel to assisted living center

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Alexander Inn Groundbreaking

Local, state, and federal officials join volunteers and nonprofit and business executives for a groundbreaking ceremony at the historic Alexander Inn on Thursday.

Top military leaders and scientists once stayed at this historic two-story hotel in the heart of Oak Ridge, and now it’s being converted into an assisted living center.

The $5.5 million renovation of the Alexander Inn at Jackson Square started in July, the culmination of a years-long preservation effort. It could be complete by mid-2014, said Rick Dover, manager of Family Pride Corp., the company converting the hotel.

The Guest House Senior Living at the Alexander Inn will have 62 rooms, including a 17-room memory care wing.

The hotel was built during the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II. Guests who once stayed there included Gen. Leslie Groves, Secretary of War Henry Stimson, and physicists J. Robert Oppenheimer and Enrico Fermi. [Read more…]

Federal official to give K-25 preservation update Thursday

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K-25 Original Building

The K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant is pictured above as it was when it was operating. (Submitted photos)

A federal official will give an update on the historic preservation plans for the former K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge on Thursday.

Karen Doughty, who works in environmental management for the U.S. Department of Energy in Oak Ridge, will present the status update on the K-25 Historic Preservation initiative during a Thursday evening meeting of the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association. The public meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the Midtown Community Center at 102 Robertsville Road. [Read more…]

More than 20,000 loads of debris hauled away from K-25 demolition

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K-25 Building Demolition Progress November 2013

Demolition of the K-25 Building’s remaining section continues as the contractor performing the work hit a waste disposal milestone last month. (Photos courtesy DOE Oak Ridge Office/Public Involvement News)

Demolition of the K-25 Building’s remaining section continues as the contractor performing the work hit a waste disposal milestone last month, officials said.

UCOR, a partnership between URS and CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, has safely shipped more than 20,000 loads of demolition debris from the K-25 project, according to the November 2013 issue of Public Involvement News, published by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office.

Most of the debris is being disposed at the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility near the Y-12 National Security Complex.

“Demolition continues at a steady pace, with the project expected to be completed next year,” the monthly newsletter said. [Read more…]

Demolition begins on last section of historic K-25 Building

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K-25 East Wing Demolition

Workers begin demolishing the last section of the K-25 building on Tuesday. K-25 was built to enrich uranium for atomic bombs during World War II and was once the world’s largest building under one roof, but it’s been unused for decades. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy/UCOR)

Demolition work began Tuesday on the last section of the historic K-25 Building, which was erected to enrich uranium for atomic bombs during World War II and was once the world’s largest building under one roof.

Most of the building, which is in west Oak Ridge, has already been demolished. Only a small section of the east wing remains at the former mile-long, U-shaped building.

K-25 was built during the top-secret Manhattan Project in World War II to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons through a process known as gaseous diffusion. Those operations ended in 1964. [Read more…]